Culinary Adventures with Camilla

I have long been a fan of George Mahood's writing. Last year I read three of his books and did recipe posts for each one. You can click on the title to go to that original post -   Not Tonight, Josephine: A Road Trip Through Small-Town America ; Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain ; and Travels with Rachel: In Search of South America . So, when I saw  Every Day Is a Holiday  by George Mahood* I ordered it immediately. On the Page I am not sure if it was the subject matter - Mahood details the first six months of a year as he attempts to celebrate off-the-wall holidays each and every day - or what...but this is my least favorite Mahood book. Sorry, George.  It was an interesting premise that grew a little tedious. As an example of holidays, we're talking about No Housework Day, National Beer Day, Caramel Popcorn Day, Nutella Day, etc. He writes, "Fruitcake Toss Day is a strange day. The idea is that you can finally get rid of that fruitcak...

Earlier this week, D asked, "Mom, can you help me and J- make butter chicken on Wednesday night after robotics? It's for our chemistry class." Sure thing.  Because they were getting to our house late and needed to be fed also, I asked if I could prep some of the dish ahead of time. They didn't argue. This was last night... So, after we cleared the table of our pasta and salad dishes, they got to work. It was amusing to listen to them while they cooked and wrote up their project paper, reporting which chemical processes they were witnessing. I heard them excitedly talking about the Maillard reaction, evaporation, reduction, and more. This is exactly the type of learning that I adore. No busy work. No worksheets. No rote memorization. This kind of learning solidifies the concepts in their minds...and it's delicious! I really hope the other kids appreciate the dish. Ingredients hopefully this will serve 30 as a tasting serving 4 pounds organi...